POTSDAM -- The Potsdam Fire Department answered 596 calls in 2017, 491 of which were to village addresses.

Those numbers are from Fire Chief Danielle Rose’s report of fire department activity last year to the village Board of Trustees at their Feb. 20 meeting.

Rose also reports they took in seven new members for their volunteer force in 2017. Three are locals and four are college students who are members of their home departments and participate with Potsdam volunteers while they’re here.

One member retired in 2017.

Rose also reported that the concrete pad in front of the fire station is deteriorating, “is in desperate need of repair,” and is becoming a hazard to pedestrians. The estimated cost of digging out the old concrete and repaving the pad would be between $12,000 and $13,000, she said.

A four-inch water main has been laid right up to the fire and station and should be connected to the firehouse, Rose said. She said it would allow faster filling of tanker trucks and easier service to commercial operations such as Barrett Paving Materials in Norwood which purchase water from the village for their work.

During the course of the year department members passed out 200 smoke detectors for free in a continuing program of promoting fire safety. The department is planing another round distribution later this year.

During the summer the department held a Fire Safety Day at the firehouse, and gave out free “tot-finder” window stickers.

The department has submitted a grant request to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the money to cover most of the cost of 35 new self-contained breathing apparatus units (SCBAs).

Rose also noted the continuing difficulty of recruiting new members to take the time-consuming courses and rigorous training required in order to join the volunteer company.